Popular vote loser Donald Trump has named FCC commissioner Ajit Pai as the commission's new chair, cementing the anti-net neutrality stance of the new regime.
Pai, who was named to the position of chairman on Monday by the Trump administration, has been a member of the FCC since 2012. Thus, there is plenty of evidence available when it comes to his views on net neutrality—and he doesn't like it at all.
In a speech in December after Trump won the election, Pai said he wanted to "take a weed whacker" to the FCC's regulations. One of the things he had his sights set on was the FCC's Open Internet Order, which was adopted in 2015. That decision made Internet providers "common carriers," and required them to carry data without playing favorites.
The new FCC chairman has said that he believes net neutrality is "a solution that won't work for a problem that doesn't exist." Pai has also said he hasn't seen any evidence that consumers are disadvantaged by network providers discriminating between different content or services, and therefore such legislation isn't necessary and harms small ISPs.
Pai is also a big fan of big telecom mergers, and a big opponent of requiring them to strengthen the privacy protections of their customers. So it will come as no surprise that big telecom is thrilled with this pick. “This is a terrific appointment for the American consumer and the companies the FCC regulates and we look forward to continuing to work with Chairman Pai in his new role,” says Comcast Senior Executive VP David Cohen, in the kind of double-speak that only a Trump regime can inspire.
This will be a fight. The Daily Kos community made more than 1,000,000 direct contacts with the FCC to support net neutrality, part of a larger coalition that set a new record for FCC comments. We won’t give it up lightly.